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Alan Parker filmography (Split from The Commitments)

Vic Sage Mar 12 2008 02:26 PM

Alan Parker: selected filmography UK writer/director Sir Alan Parker has had an impressive output over the last 30+ years. He has employed a powerful visual style and a keen musical ear to explore socio-political themes, establishing a unique directorial voice. Though he worked in advertising like his fellow Brit pals, the Scott Bros. (Ridley & Tony), Parker came from a background of words, not pictures. He was an advertising copywriter, not a photographer, but he went on to direct commercials, too, through the 1960s-70s, before directing some TV in the UK, and then breaking thru with his first Hollywood feature. Bugsy Malone (1976) (director/writer) - Parker's quirky debut is a gangster musical comedy, performed all by kids, including Scott Biaio and Jodi Foster. While it didn't make much of a commercial splash in the U.S., it got some props abroad and showed that Parker was a director with a strong visual style and a knack for staging music on film. * Awards: Cannes (golden palm -nom), Bafta (direction -nom; screenplay- won) Midnight Express (1978) - Parker broke through, both commercially and critically, in this collaboration with Oliver Stone. An intense thriller depicting conditions in a Turkish prison, it forshadowed Parker's later socio-political dramas. Again, his stylish imagery and use of music (this time, Moroder's oscarr-winning score) is integral to the action. *Awards: Oscar (director-nom), Bafta (director), Cannes (golden palm- nom), Golden Globe (director- nom), DGA (director- nom) Fame (1980) - this hit musical about HS kids in NYC spawned a tv series, a stage musical and became a pop-cultural touchstone. Again, the music, visual style, socio-political plot elements are all here. *Awards: Bafta (direction -nom) Shoot the Moon (1982) - all the action here is emotional; the story of a marriage's dissolution, with great perfs by Albert Finney and Diane Keaton. A more intimate and quiet type of movie for Parker. But, like many of his later films, its a sad, bitter tale *Awards: Cannes (golden palm- nom) Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (1982) - This Wagnerian rock opera of emotional pain, socio-political themes and wild imagery, is pure Parker... for better or worse. Personally, i dig it. Birdy (1984) - 2 friends, back from Vietnam, are wounded in different ways -- 1 physically, 1 emotionally. A great use of Peter Gabriel score, backdrop for the emotional pain of the Vietnam war era, allows the imagery to soar. This may be Parker's best film (certainly his best non-musical). Music, kinetic images, political themes. check, check, check. *Awards: Cannes (golden palm- nom / jury prize -won) Angel Heart (1987) (director /writer) - a 50's era Horror/Film noir, with Mickey Roarke as a P.I., with a past he's unaware of, and Robert DeNiro is the devil, which seems like type casting to me. All in all, the sum is less than the parts would indicate. Mississippi Burning (1988) - Parker's social conscience finally runs amok in this heavy-handed study of racism in the early-60s south. It was acclaimed and successful, but i can't stand this kind of filmmaking. *Awards: Oscar (director-nom), Bafta (direction -nom), DGA (director- nom), Golden Globe (director- nom) Come See the Paradise (1990) (director/writer) - Parker explores yet another era of American racism -- WWII and the U.S. internment camps for Japanese-Americans. More moral fervor, alas. *Awards: Cannes (golden palm- nom) The Commitments (1991) - Ahhh. this is more like it. Parker returns to his UK roots to make this musical about working-class Dubliners putting together a great soul band that ALMOST makes it. Now THIS is the way to deal with social issues on film, Sir Alan. And of course the musical sequences are terrific. Right up there with BIRDY as best Parker film. And, unfortunately, his LAST good film as well. "Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud." *Awards: Bafta (direction, picture), Golden Globe (picture- nom) The Road to Wellville (1994) (director/writer/producer) - this leaden comedy about a health farm deserves its anonymity. Somebody should have told Parker he was going wrong, but with Parker now serving as the director, writer and producer, there was nobody there to do so. Evita (1996) (director/writer/producer) - Parker returns to music, politics and imagery, but with markedly less impact, perhaps because the musical itself is a piece of crap. *Awards: Bafta (screenplay- nom), Golden Globe (director- nom) Angela's Ashes (1999) (director/writer/producer) He adapts McCourt's novel of pre-WWI Ireland with all the punch of a Rey Ordonez. The Life of David Gale (2003) (director/producer) - Parker's indictment of capital punishment deserved its slow death. At age 64, with many solid credits and a knighthood behind him, there doesn't appear to be much left in the tank for Sir Alan. Still, i would love to see him adapt the recent Tom Stoppard play, ROCK N ROLL, since there aren't too many directors around who can handle the music, the politics and the literary pyrotechnics of this Stoppard work.

AG/DC Mar 12 2008 02:32 PM

I don't like much Pink Floyd but I like The Wall enough to like them better because of it. However, I don't think Mississippi Burning is a study of racism. Speaking of racism, Dublin ain't part of the UK.

Vic Sage Mar 12 2008 03:50 PM

Speaking of racism, Dublin ain't part of the UK. wow. you got me. I was off by 85 years or 50+ miles. Sorry. But last i checked, those in the UK and those in the Republic of Ireland were still of the same race, despite their history of trying to kill each other. So, im not sure how my error in referencing a city in southern Ireland with regard to Parker's "UK roots" is deserving of your disdainful and cavalier "speaking of racism". Or were you just being a clever lad? As for MISSISSIPPI BURNING, it was about alot of things... about 20 minutes too long, for one But a major story element was how the federal government responded to racism in the south, in the wake of the murder of young civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner in 1964. So perhaps a "study of racism" isn't the best short-hand description, but it is certainly applicable. But i suppose i could have instead described it as the fictionalized account by a foreigner who overstates the heroism of the feds during this era, while reducing the black community to nameless victims suffering with dignity, waiting for the white liberals from up north to save them. But no matter the description, its overheated hokum.

AG/DC Mar 12 2008 08:01 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 13 2008 08:30 AM

I thought it was about the contrast betwwen the two FBI men. Defoe is such a man of his time, such a Kennedy-era true believer that he fucks up the investigation over and over because he's so much of a bulldozer self-righteousness that he gets the whole investigation stonewalled. It's like moral jui-jitsu. He punches with a passion that throws him so off-balance that he gets nothing accomplished no matter how broadly he expands the investigation. Even his haircut seems to come off a Kennedy head. The Hackman character is the more pragmatic investigator, more experienced, more detached, and more successful as he gains the trust of the wife of one of the murderers, but ultimately more morally compromised, as he puts her in a position to be brutally beaten. It's a cop movie to me. The setting is just a part of the story. Though I can see why that's objectionable. I don't like the idea of burning down the World Trade Center all over again just to tell Nicholas Cage's story, and I don't like sinking the Titanic just to tell some ditzy upstair-downstairs romance. But last i checked, those in the UK and those in the Republic of Ireland were still of the same race, despite their history of trying to kill each other. So, im not sure how my error in referencing a city in southern Ireland with regard to Parker's "UK roots" is deserving of your disdainful and cavalier "speaking of racism". I certainly didn't mean to accuse you of racism. Only that the conflict of that distinction gets cast in racial terms. See the quote you pull from the Commitments script.

Vic Sage Mar 13 2008 08:05 AM

It's a cop movie to me. The setting is just a part of the story. Though I can see why that's objectionable. I don't like the idea of burning down the World Trade Center all over again just to tell Nicholas Cage's story, and I don't like sinking the Titanic just to tell some ditzy upstair-downstairs romance. But i don't think it was just story backdrop to Parker, because he so often examines social themes in his movies, as i tried to describe above. If all he wanted was to tell a compelling police procedural, you don't need to re-write history to do it. That he DID use the historical events around this racially-charged pivotal moment of the civil rights era suggests it was central to his point, not just a context or backdrop. The fact that you perceive it basically as a cop movie is, to me, just an example of how he failed to make his point, not that he wasn't trying to make one.

RealityChuck Mar 17 2008 09:47 AM

Parker (like Ridley Scott) is wildly inconsistent. His best stuff is excellent, and I like the way he takes chances, but when he is bad, he is very very bad. I like Bugsy Malone, Fame, The Committments, Mississippi Burning and, to a lesser extent, Evita (for making the attempt of getting movie musicals on the screen again).

Vic Sage Mar 17 2008 03:36 PM

What... no love for MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, BIRDY or THE WALL? I'd take any of those over MISSISSIPPI BURNING, but that's just me.

sharpie Mar 18 2008 06:58 AM

Liked: Midnight Express, Shoot the Moon, The Commitments Mixed: Mississippi Burning Disliked: The Wall (and I am a Pink Floyd fan but found this unwatchable), Fame Didn't See: the rest of them

soupcan Mar 18 2008 07:56 AM

Alan Parker films I've seen - Bugsy Malone - I thought this movie was weird when I saw it, but I remember liking it. Midnight Express - Great movie - still scares the shit out of me. Fame - I was a student at the High School of Music & Art when this movie was made and released. The student body of my school as well as the High School of Preforming Arts (the two schools upon which the movie was based) were given free tickets to a showing the week the movie opened. The NYC Board of Ed was also given a preview and after seeing it, they deemed the movie 'unsuitable' for the students to see (I always thought Irene Cara's breasts had a lot to do with that) and tried to get the tickets back from the students. They weren't very successful. I remember having a great time at the showing we all went to at some theater in Times Square. They used a lot of students as extras in the movie and whenever someone we recognized appeared on the screen there was raucous cheering. Side note: Erica Gimpel, who played Coco on the TV series, was a friend and junior high school classmate of mine. I believe she went to Performing Arts Pink Floyd's "The Wall" - Have never seen it without being stoned so I don't know if its any good. Birdy - Matthew Modine, right? I liked this movie a lot. Angel Heart - Lisa Bonet's breasts. The Commitments - Loved it.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 18 2008 08:21 AM

Both Angel Heart and Mississippi Burning seemed very powerful at first veiwing but sort of faded on further reflection. "Mississippi" especially I find manipulative. I agree with the comment above, it's a weird cop movie ("Yeah, well, we're doing it MY WAY now..."). I used to check the Bugsy Malone soundtrack record out of the library (Paul Williams rawks!!!!). Weird movie. Liked the Commitments but I'm not totally gay for it like everybody else was. Liked Midnight Express. Wall? Didn't see it. Afraid it would be as boring as some of that record. Fame -- Eh. More interested in hearing Soupy's stories of being in performing arts HS. Soup, tell us about dance class, will you, dear? Didn't see the others

soupcan Mar 18 2008 08:41 AM

Fame -- Eh. More interested in hearing Soupy's stories of being in performing arts HS. Soup, tell us about dance class, will you, dear? I will now educate you. I went to The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art. At the time it was housed on the campus of City College in a building on 137th street and Convent Avenue in Manhattan. This high school was for students who either sang, played musical instruments, sculpted, painted and/or drew. I happened to have a bit of talent as an illustrater but that was a looong time ago. The High School for The Performing Arts was located somewhere in or around Times Square. P.A., as it was referred to (as opposed to 'M&A' for my school), was for musicians and other performers - singers, dancers, actors. Sometime around 1990 or so I think, both schools merged into The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music, Art and The Performing Arts. The school has since been housed in a building behind Lincoln Center adjacent to Martin Luther King, Jr. High School. When I was a student at M&A there was no dancing. I can regale you with stories of running to the subway at 2:57 pm so us priveledged white kids from 'downtown' could get the hell out of Dodge before all the other public schools in Harlem let out and we became the favored prey of the local kids.